Forget X-Factor, PPC Imaginarium Ups the Ante By Assembling a Judging Panel Of the Country’s Most Prestigious Industry Players

The PPC Imaginarium Awards – South Africa’s most substantial arts and design competition – is thrilled to announce a judging panel that is almost as exciting as the competition itself. This year’s panel boasts an extraordinary list of top-notch thought leaders with expertise in film, design, architecture and the arts.
Image Credit: Trevor stuurman

Renowned for her film, Otelo Burning, award-winning documentary director and producer, Sara Blecher is one of many creatives who sit on this year’s panel. Blecher has elicited glowing praise locally and internationally for her latest venture titled Ayanda and the Mechanic, a film that she co-produced with award-winning Tsotsi star and actor Terry Pheto. Her new film enjoyed a sold-out world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, was successful at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in France, and was screened as the opening film of the 36th Durban International Film Festival.

Other cinematic forces to be reckoned with include award-winning director, Wessel van Huyssteen of Tin Rage Productions; and Karima Effendi, producer of the acclaimed educational TV drama series InterSEXions.

The awards committee is also fortunate to be joined by heavyweight design luminaries that include Alayne Reesberg, who previously headed the World Design Capital Cape Town 2014; Programme Director of 100% Design South Africa, Cathy O’Clery  who curates the country’s only international design show; award-wining director, Mokena Makeka of Makeka Design Lab; founding member of design-led brand consultancy, ITI (International Trend Institute), Jodi Robertson and industrial design duo Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin, who are behind the ground-breaking design studio Dokter and Misses and inspire a broad-ranging audience with their contemporary African aesthetic.

The judges are tasked with evaluating the entries in order to determine the finalists and overall winner. The judging process will occur in three phases. The first phase of judging will be based on entrants’ written proposals to determine who makes it to the production phase. The second phase of judging, in which regional judging takes place and finalists are chosen, will be based on physical submissions. The finalists will then be judged in the third and final phase at the national level.

The winners in each competition category will be announced on Thursday, 4 February 2016. The overall competition winner announcement will take place at the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park on Thursday, 31 March 2016.

The winners will receive substantial monetary prizes, but in addition to this, the judges will also mentor each of the category winners.